Colombia Restores Ties
With Ecuador
Colombia and Ecuador
have agreed to restore
low-level diplomatic
ties, which were severed
after a raid on a
Colombian rebel camp
within Ecuador.
Relations are to be
renewed at the level of
charge d'affaires, under
an agreement brokered by
former US President
Jimmy Carter.
Colombia's cross-border
raid on 1 March killed
rebel commander Raul
Reyes and more than 25
other guerrillas.
It caused one of the
biggest diplomatic
crises in Latin America
in years.
Ecuador and Venezuela
sent troops to their
borders after Colombia's
raid, withdrawing them
several days later after
a meeting of regional
leaders in the Dominican
Republic.
Fragile agreement
The thaw in relations
came after mediation
conducted by former
President Carter.
He spoke to both
President Alvaro Uribe
of Colombia and his
Ecuadorian counterpart,
Rafael Correa, by
telephone, the
Atlanta-based Carter
Center said in a
statement.
Ecuadorean soldier
examines the remains of
the Farc camp after the
Colombian raid -
3/3/2008
Colombia insisted the
Farc camp had been a
legitimate military
target
"President Rafael Correa
confirms his willingness
to immediately renew
relations at the level
of charges d'affaires,"
Ecuadorean Foreign
Minister Maria Isabel
Salvador confirmed
later.
Relations had been
severed abruptly after
the Colombian air force
bombed a camp used by
the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (Farc)
just inside Ecuador, and
sent troops to recover
the body of Paul Reyes
along with several
laptops and documents.
The BBC's Jeremy
McDermott in Bogota says
it is the content of
these computers that has
delayed the restoration
of diplomatic relations,
and could see them break
down again.
The Colombian government
insists that the
computers show Ecuador
had secret links to the
left-wing rebel group.
President Correa has
vehemently denied the
allegation and asked the
Organisation of American
States to investigate.
The OAS has already
ruled that Colombia's
attack was a violation
of Ecuador's
sovereignty.
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